ATH Bioenergy to develop four biomethane plants in Canary Islands

Renewable energy company ATH Bioenergy will develop four biomethane plants in the Canary Islands with an investment of €100mn ($108.5mn), Suma Capital, which is financing the project, said on May 27. The groundbreaking ceremony for the first facility in Arinaga, located in the southeast of Gran Canaria, took place last week.

This project, supported by investments from Suma Capital and Tibanna, will enhance energy production in the Canary Islands by harnessing collaboration across multiple sectors, including hospitality and agriculture.

“Our goal is to convert waste from hotels and supermarkets into biogas, biomethane, and fertilizer, creating a circular economic and environmental model that produces low-carbon energy and high-quality fertilizer for local agriculture,” said Ruperto Unzué, partner at Suma Capital and president of ATH Bioenergy.

The first plant in Gran Canaria will begin construction this summer, with additional facilities planned for Tenerife, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote between the second half of 2024 and 2025. These plants, operational from 2026, will collectively treat around 130,000 tonnes/year of organic waste, including food waste from hotels, pruning waste, banana waste, and food industry waste, producing more than 133 GWh/year of biomethane for local hotels and industries.

Biomethane, already widely used as a carbon-neutral alternative to natural gas across Europe, is produced from sustainable feedstock such as underutilised silage, slurry, and food waste.